One of my goals for this summer is to increase my grilling skills. I’ve been wanting a ceramic grill for a while, but now is not the time for us to buy. So I’m committed to really learning to use the gas grill.

I’ve cooked on a gas grill for years, but I’ve never really tried to learn any techniques. But this year, I’ve really been working on seeking out good grilling methods.

Enter this 7-6-5 Method for grilling pork tenderloins. This is so easy and so full of flavor! I’ve done this multiple times already. The process involves brining the pork for about 45 minutes. Brining just means pouring cool water mixed with kosher salt and sugar over the pork and letting it sit in the fridge. It couldn’t be simpler.

After the brine, I pat the meat dry and usually give it a generous sprinkle of McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning or McCormick Maple Smokehouse Seasoning. But this time I decided to give it an extra summery flare and use peaches.

I pureed a couple of peaches, added McCormick ground ginger and rubbed the meat down with the peach sauce. The sugar in the peaches gave the pork a nice char on the outside.

To serve along with the meat, I added a teaspoon each of brown sugar and soy sauce to the remaining puree and warmed it in the microwave for a minute. The ginger, peach and pork make a wonderful combination!

First, a friend mentioned having Korean tacos and how good they were. I’d never tried them, but it sounded great!

Second, I wanted a homemade alternative to this Korean BBQ Mix. We love this mix, but it’s nice to be able to make something from scratch too.

I did a little research and then altered the recipe for Slow Cooker Honey Hoisin Chicken to come up with this version of Korean BBQ Tacos. I make no claim that these are authentic. But I do know they are good! Really good.

I used pork loin instead of beef or chicken, but any of those meats will work.

One way to make quick dinners is to wrap something – almost anything, really – in a tortilla. I keep tortillas on hand in the pantry, because they’re great for nights when I’m wondering what I’m going to fix.

Oh yes. I have those nights too, where I stand in front of the pantry and fridge surveying the contents. Some of my best recipes come from those forced cooking sessions.

Here’s how I create those recipes. I’m going to share my system so you can do the same thing. Some of you already cook this way, but for others it’s a new experience.

Let’s say you’ve got a pack of tortillas handy. Knowing a quick meal can be pulled together using those, we’ll start there.

Next, check your fridge and freezer for any meat you may have. Leftover cooked chicken, ground beef or pork and even sausage can be used. For this meal, I chose Italian sausage. It doesn’t have to be Mexican to be wrapped in a tortilla. No rules here!

You’re also going to want cheese. Tortillas and cheese are like peanut butter and jelly. They belong together! For this recipe, I grabbed a block of Monterey Jack and started grating.

You could stop there if you wanted. Sausage and cheese would be filling all on it’s own. But since I had half a jalapeño and some frozen corn, I decided to add those. You could also use red or green bell peppers, onion, garlic, zucchini…let your imagination and pantry guide you.

Now it’s just a matter of deciding how to cook what you’ve got. This would make wonderful enchiladas. Just add a simple red sauce to the top and bake.

But I was in a hurry, so I chose to make quesadillas. Crispy on the outside and melty on the inside. Everyone loves these!

Cook over medium heat in large skillet or griddle until toasted on the outside.

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Azteca Tortilla Giveaway!

I love Azteca tortillas. They have no preservatives, no high fructose corn syrup and no artificial flavors or colors. Quick meals can be healthy! Since I often shop at Walmart, I like that I can find Azteca products there.

Azteca is giving away a Back to School Prize Pack to one lucky winner. The prize pack includes:

· $50 Walmart Gift Card

· Azteca Free Product Coupon

· Meal Planning Notepad

· Tupperware Container

· Dry Erase Wall Decal Calendar

To enter:

Leave a comment telling me how long you usually spend cooking a weeknight dinner. Winner will be chosen randomly on 8/28 and notified by email.

Disclosure: I have been compensated by Azteca for my time, but all opinions are my own.

In case you don’t catch it right away, this is an attempt to please both the kids and adults. Not that the adults in this house don’t like pasta. But Jim and I are both attempting a Whole 30, which means no pasta for us.

And actually, we both agreed that the acorn squash tasted much better than the pasta for this dish. Pasta doesn’t have much flavor of it’s own really, but the squash lent a slight bit of sweetness that balanced the sausage, peppers and tomatoes.

This is a Whole 30 compliant meal (as far as I can tell). We really enjoyed this one.

When King’s Hawaiian asked me to create a recipe using their dinner rolls, I had a couple of ideas. I first made sticky pecan rolls. They were marvelous, but not very photogenic. So, I went back to the drawing board and decided to try a twist on bbq sliders.

These little sandwiches make use of one of the slow cooker freezer meals that is part of our November plans. The Peach BBQ Pork couldn’t be easier and the flavor is outstanding.

I paired the pork with Apple Cole Slaw with sweet vinegar dressing. It’s really easy to make, but the addition of the apple gives a great flavor. It goes great with the pork and the King’s Hawaiian rolls too.

Here’s what you’ll need to make them:

The pork and bbq ingredients aren’t in the photo. I already had it going in the slow cooker.

For the Pork

2 1/2 – 3 lbs. pork roast or tenderloin

16 oz bottle barbecue sauce

16 oz peach salsa

Put all the ingredients in the slow cooker.

Cook on high 5-6 hours or low for 7-8 hours.

Shred cooked meat to serve.

For the Apple Cole Slaw

16 oz bag cole slaw mix

handful chopped parsely

​1 apple, chopped

1/3 cup vegetable oil

3 Tbs. vinegar

4 Tbs. sugar

salt and pepper to taste

Stir cole slaw mix, parsley and apple together.

Put the remaining ingredients in a container with a tight fitting lid. Give it a good shake to combine.

This is another one of those super simple, easily adaptable recipes. In fact, I can think of three different ways to serve it. All of them would be delish. We chose the simplest serving method – sandwiches.

But you could also make the pork and gravy and serve it as whole pork chops with your favorite sides. Then repurpose the leftovers as sandwiches.

Or you could make open-faced sandwiches with mashed potatoes. Like a Manhattan. I think there are other terms for this type of sandwich, but I can’t think of them right now. Leave a comment if you know of some.

I used 2.5 lbs of boneless pork chops and 1 jar of gravy. If you like it more gravy-ish, just add a second jar. And if you’re serving them as open-faced sandwiches with mashed potatoes, you’ll want the second jar of gravy.

For a side dish, I cooked some farmer’s market veggies in a skillet. It was a quick meal that we really liked.

Want to add a little jolt to your BBQ Ribs recipe? Save the leftover morning coffee. That hit of java gives the barbecue sauce an extra depth of flavor. And cooking them in the slow cooker makes it simple.

I used country style ribs with bones. I’ve seen the boneless kind (which is kind of funny, since ribs really are bones) and we like that, but I do think the bones add flavor. So does the coffee. It makes the sauce deeper and richer.

Barbecue sauce in the slow cooker can get thin, so I thickened it a bit with cornstarch. We had no leftovers with this meal!

My husband likes his pasta sauce with meat. I prefer mine to be packed with veggies. This is our compromise.

After hours in the slow cooker, the eggplant becomes melt-in-your-mouth buttery. If you didn’t know it was in there, you might not notice it. It’s a great way to sneak in extra veggies! For the sausage, I prefer to use pre-cooked sausage because it’s easier to slice up, but any Italian sausage would work for this.

This makes a pretty big batch for the two of us, but it freezes nicely for future use.

Coin slice the sausage. Peel and dice the eggplant. Add both to the slow cooker. Stir well to combine.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Serve over pasta, topped with parmesan cheese.

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Kate is a home cook living and working in New Jersey. In addition to sharing recipes with Eat at Home readers, she blogs her cooking adventures at Kate’s Recipe Box. When she’s not in the kitchen, you can find her reading or tending to her garden.